Former project manager claims contractors wrongfully fired him to deflect blame from supply delays plaguing the $6B Surrey-Langley expansion
A project manager overseeing a SkyTrain expansion south of the Fraser River claims he was “scapegoated” after the project was plagued with cost overruns.
Ahmed Salih made the claims in a June 25 petition to the B.C. Supreme Court. The lawsuit claims he worked for about a year and a half as one of the project managers and signing authorities for B.C.’s SkyTrain expansion project linking Surrey’s King George Station to Langley City Centre.
Salih claims he served as a liaison to labour unions, helped onboard more than 150 employees, and managed millions of dollars’ worth of subcontractors.
That included managing the installation, set-up and operation of a concrete batch site—where the raw ingredients used to make concrete are combined and mixed in precise quantities.
Instead of buying ready-mix concrete from an outside supplier and trucking it in, massive infrastructure projects will often set up a temporary or dedicated batch plant right on or near the construction site, according to Jason Saunderson, executive director of Concrete BC.
The idea is to save money and time. Mixing your own concrete also project managers to maintain control over quality—especially important when the work involves pre-casting sections of the elevated SkyTrain guideway.
“Literally every single piece is an engineering challenge,” said Saunderson. “They might look the same, but there’s not a single piece that’s identical.”
A precast concrete facility in Surrey, where SkyTrain guideway segments are produced and stored, Feb. 11, 2026. | B.C. Ministry of Transportation
About a year ago, Saunderson said he visited a Surrey worksite where workers were casting concrete sections for the SkyTrain’s elevated guideway. At the time, he said the batch plant on site was not operational and the project managers were still buying concrete on the open market.
According to Salih’s lawsuit, the principals at Con-Force Structures Ltd. signed contracts with third parties to build the concrete batch site before hiring him.
The company is named as defendants in the petition alongside Rizzani De Eccher Inc., Dragados Skyline GP Inc., and SL SkyTrain Project Limited Partnership.
Together the petition alleges the companies formed the entity RDLC Constructors General Partnership to advance the SkyTrain expansion project.
At one point, the contracted third-party companies allegedly faced manufacturing delays. Instead of producing the concrete onsite, the RDLC partnership was forced to buy the basic material at market prices.
That led to “considerable” cost overruns and delay in the overall project schedule, according to the petition.
“The biggest danger that any of these projects face is delays,” said Saunderson, who is not involved in the legal action.
The court document does not quantify how much more money was spent as a result of not having its own concrete facility set up.
Workers pour concrete into a mold for a SkyTrain guideway segment, March 31, 2025. | B.C. Ministry of Transportation
SkyTrain expansion already faced delays, cost overruns
The SkyTrain expansion project had already seen its costs balloon in recent years.
On Aug. 15, 2024, the B.C. government said the project’s forecasted cost had already risen to nearly $6 billion—a 50 per cent increase from the previous $4 billion estimate.
A B.C. government news release at the time said the increase was due to “market conditions,” including inflation, supply chain pressures and the rising cost of key commodities.
It also listed Dragados Canada Inc. as one of three partners that would design, build and finance the SkyTrain project’s elevated guideway, associated roadworks, utilities and active transportation elements.
Construction began on the project in January 2025, according to a government bulletin.
A launching gantry installs guideway segments outside the Bakerview-166 Street Station as part of the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension project, Sept. 22, 2025. | B.C. Ministry of Transportation
By May 8, 2026, eight stations along the 16-kilometres extension were under construction and more than 30 per cent of the elevated guideway had been completed using segments of precast concrete from a facility in South Surrey, according to the province.
At the time, B.C. Premier David Eby and federal Housing and Infrastructure Minister Gregor Robertson, posed for a picture in front of a section of the SkyTrain under construction.
“The Surrey Langley SkyTrain will transform the way people move around Metro Vancouver,” said Robertson.
“Through collaboration, we are building the first rapid transit project south of the Fraser in 30 years.”
The project is expected to be completed by 2029.
Construction of the Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension progresses through Green Timbers Urban Forest, April 2026. | B.C. Ministry of Transportation
Firms worked together to terminate project manager, claims suit
While none of Salih’s claims have been tested in court, the allegations suggest operational failures may have contributed to the SkyTrain project’s rising cost.
Salih claims he worked for over a year and a half on the SkyTrain extension, until on Jan. 7, 2026, he was terminated “without cause.”
The suit alleges Salih’s termination “had nothing to do with his performance.” Instead, the principals of Con-Force allegedly laid off the project manager as a way to scapegoat him for third-party failures.
Map of the Surrey Langley SkyTrain Project route and stations. The project is expected to be completed over the next three years. | B.C. Ministry of Transportation
Salih claims the other companies named as defendants intentionally interfered with his employment contract, pressuring Con-Force to remove him.
He alleges the corporate group had mutual control over his employment and termination.
The suit alleges Salih was wrongfully terminated after being promised long-term job security. It seeks repayment of portions of his $250,000 per year base salary and extra damages for bad faith, insensitive termination, and being inappropriately scapegoated.
Through his lawyer, Salih declined to comment on the claims.
None of the companies named in the suit responded to requests for comment. The Ministry of Transportation and Transit did not answer questions from Business in Vancouver by the time of publication.
None of the claims have been tested in court.
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